About Us "Preserving the Past, Informing the Future" The National Meteorological Library and Archive (NMLA) work together as one team to deliver a service that is "open to everyone" serving both Met Office staff and the wider research community and general public. We are based in Exeter, with the library located at the Met Office HQ and the archive based just five minutes away at Great Moor House where we share our archive repositories with Devon Heritage Centre. We are a national library and archive and are open to everyone with an interest in weather and climate. Our History The Met Office was founded 1854 as a small department in the Board of Trade under the leadership of Captain (later Vice-Admiral) Robert FitzRoy to advise on weather and marine currents to the marine community. The library & archive started life as one collection that grew from the very beginnings of the office. Although today our collections are housed separately for good archival reasons they are close in proximity and remain very much a joint complementary collection supported by a close team. The Library really emerged from the time of Robert Scott the second CE. A first mention of the Library was in 1870 when it contained 1200 volumes and pamphlets.

The early library was mentioned in an article from the 1981 issue of Meteorological Magazine entitled "Reminiscences of the Meteorological Office 1898-1910" where it describes "..the principal part of the library was located in the room of the head of the office Dr RH Scott....over the course of years the accession of books and bound volumes of observations had overflowed into other rooms and the increasing weight of several thousand of marine meteorological logs caused some of the floor joists to sag and it became necessary for iron girders to be put in to hold up the floors" In 1910 to office moved from Victoria Street (which it outgrew) to Exhibition Road in South Kensington. A decision taken at a meeting of the Meteorological Committee on 29 April 1914 saw the Met Office accept responsibility for the official custodianship of met related records - to house the charts, weather diaries, original weather records, ships logs and met logs from expeditions.

The 1958 Public Records Act made the Lord Chancellor responsible for the selection and preservation of important public records and in a letter dated 3 May 1962 he designated the Met Office at Bracknell as the official national Place of Deposit for meteorological records. For the first time the Library and Archive were held in separate locations (the library at HQ and the Archive at Eastern Road and then Scott Building). In 2003 the Library relocated to Met Office HQ in Exeter and in 2005 the National Meteorological Archive was opened to the public at Great Moor House - a building we share with Devon Heritage Centre. We now benefit from purpose built archive repositories and in 2011/12 National Meteorological Archive along with Devon Records Office achieved National Archive approval as a record repository for the first time. Our Mission and Policies The NMLA follows a range of guiding principles when carrying out our activities. These are described in a range of Our Policies and follow guidance from The National Archives (TNA) and other related standards of good practice.

Last updated: Jul 8, 2016 1:59 PM Transcript of 'Who is the Met Office?' Our origins In 1854 an experimental government department, which was later to become the Met Office, was set up under the Board of Trade. Its aim was to research the possibilities of forecasting the weather, mainly to protect the safety of ships and their crew at sea. Distinguished naval captain, Robert FitzRoy, was chosen to head up the department. He had already enjoyed an illustrious career at sea, including commanding the HMS Beagle on its five-year world voyage which served as inspiration for Charles Darwin's defining work On the origin of species. His job under the new department was to establish meteorology as a science and he set about developing the fundamental techniques of modern weather forecasting. He was spurred on by tragedies such as the sinking of the Royal Charter in 1859 - wrecked off the coast of Anglesey in a fearsome storm with the loss of nearly all of the 500 passengers on board.

FitzRoy developed the first storm warning service, achieved by using canvas covered frames in different shapes to alert ships to dangers - these were lit up by fires at night so they could give warnings at any time. He also pioneered techniques for forecasting weather such as synoptic charts, where weather observations taken at the same time were drawn on a map to aid forecasting - a technique still used today. FitzRoy's work laid the foundations for the Met Office's future at the forefront of this 'new science'. Major landmarks in our history Telegraphy From our early beginnings, we developed capabilities rapidly to create ever more advanced forecasts. Staying on the leading edge of technology has been central to this progress, and the introduction of wireless telegraphy on ships in 1909 was a major milestone. This allowed observations and forecasts to be quickly transmitted, significantly improving the service the office could offer. Ministry of Defence During the First World War, it was recognised that understanding the weather and being able to forecast it could help provide a military edge, supporting operations and improving safety. For this reason, the office was taken under the wing of the Air Ministry, later the Ministry of Defence, after the war - establishing our status as a vital service for the UK's Armed Forces.

D-Day landings during the Second World War The weather was crucial to the Allied Forces's success for the D-Day landings in June 1944. General Eisenhower's chief meteorologist, Group Captain John Stagg, a Met Office forecaster, advised of a narrow 'weather window' for the operation to go ahead: "probably the only day during the month of June on which the operations could have been launched," President Truman later said. Storm Surge In 1953, an intense area of low pressure and storm surge combined to cause catastrophic coastal flooding with huge loss of life along North Sea coasts in Britain and Holland. This led to the setting up of the Storm Tide Forecasting Service to give advance warning of such events in the future. It also prompted the planning and construction of the Thames Barrier. Technology - computers and satellites In 1959 the Met Office bought our first computer, a Ferranti Mercury, capable of doing 30,000 calculations a second. This allowed us to take a major step forward with our forecasting, making numerical based predictions possible for the first time. From this point on, advancing technology and increasing computer capacity has played a key role in making our forecasts increasingly accurate.

In the 1960s, the satellite revolution provided a quantum leap in weather forecasting providing a bird's-eye of how the atmosphere moves. In 1977 the first European weather satellite, Meteosat 1, was launched - once again pushing forward the boundaries of meteorology. Aviation and severe weather In 1984 the Met Office was named as a World Area Forecasting Centre ( WAFC ) for civil aviation, one of only two centres along with Washington to provide forecasts for flying at high altitude. After the storm of 15/16 October in 1987, we began the National Severe Weather Warning Service ( NSWWS ) for the UK. This provides warnings to the general public to protect life and property from the effects of severe weather. Climate change In 1990 the Met Office Hadley Centre was opened, creating a dedicated centre for research of the Earth's climate. It quickly established a world-leading reputation, producing pioneering research in the arena of climate change and providing vital advice to UK and world governments. By working with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, our expertise has helped shape global policy on tackling climate change and adapting to its effects.

The Met Office today As a world leader in providing weather and climate services, we employ more than 1,700 at 60 locations throughout the world. We are a Trading Fund within the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, operating on a commercial basis under set targets. We are recognised as one of the world's most accurate forecasters, using more than 10 million weather observations a day, an advanced atmospheric model and a high performance supercomputer to create 3,000 tailored forecasts and briefings a day. These are delivered to a huge range of customers from the Government, to businesses, the general public, armed forces, and other organisations. Public services This includes the Public Weather Service ( PWS ), which provides forecasts for the public to help them make informed decisions about their day-to-day activities. The National Severe Weather Warning Service is also a part of this, providing advance notice of weather which could affect public safety. Health We are now working with the NHS to provide information on how the weather affects hospital admissions and helping them manage workloads. We can also help people with certain medical conditions, advising them when the weather could affect their health, helping them to stay healthy and out of hospital.

Transport and business Our range of services for transport includes tailored advice on how the weather will affect roads, air and sea travel. We also provide detailed information to a broad range of businesses which can be affected by the weather, from how it will affect the demand for electricity and gas, to how it will affect sales of high street products. Defence and Government Our work in the area of defence includes providing forecasts for military operations anywhere in the world, often supported by Met Office forecasters working in theatre with our armed forces. Our advice helps the military make strategic decisions, plan operations and safeguard service personnel from the worst effects of the weather, such as heat stress. We also provide a range of services for the Government. This includes environmental monitoring advice on the predicted spread of insect-borne diseases such as bluetongue, to toxic or hazardous fumes, or even volcanic ash. Climate change Climate change has become an increasingly important issue and our research continues to create an ever clearer picture of how it will affect the planet and our lives. This plays a vital role in providing evidence to support climate predictions which show the planet is now locked into at least 2 °C of warming and rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are required to ensure this does not rise further for future generations.

With this in mind, we have been providing tailored advice and services for a range of clients to help them begin adapting to the consequences of climate change. This has included projects focusing on defence, transport, energy, water supply, defence, flooding, health, and a host of other issues. We will continue to use our expertise to further understanding of climate change, as well as offering advice on how to mitigate the risks and adapt to its consequences. Images on this website are for use of the Met Office only, please do not download. If you require images please contact the Press Office. Last updated: Apr 23, 2012 2:09 PM The chemical weather glass: composition and operation | DeepDyve Try 2 weeks free now The chemical weather glass: composition and operation Mills, Allan Department of Geology, University of Leicester Robert FitzRoy (1805â1865) was captain of the Beagle during the voyages made famous by Charles Darwin (Gribbin and Gribbin, 2003). In 1854, he became the first Director of the Meteorological Office, and was subsequently promoted to Vice-Admiral.

A lifelong interest in meteorology was embodied in his text The Weather Book (FitzRoy, 1862) where he recommended standard barometers, thermometers and hygrometers be set up in a network of stations to aid quantitative study of weather and climate, and to facilitate more accurate forecasting. (Modern examples are sold by Barometer World Ltd.) The history of the chemical weather glass has recently been researched by Anita McConnell (2006). She confirms it was known in France in the 1780s, but the true originator remains obscure. The exact composition of the content is also rather vague. The well-known instrument makers Negretti and Zambra apparently suggested camphor 2 parts, potassium nitrate 1 part, ammonium chloride 1 part; all dissolved in pure alcohol and then partly precipitated with distilled water. That the appearance of the crystals in the weather glass changes from time to time appears to have been agreed long ago, but the cause of this variability was Weather Wiley Weather – June 2008, Vol. 63, No.

6 161 Robert FitzRoy (1805–1865) was captain of the Beagle during the voyages made famous by Charles Darwin (Gribbin and Gribbin, 2003). In 1854, he became the first Director of the Meteorological Office, and was sub- sequently promoted to Vice-Admiral. A life- long interest in meteorology was embodied in his text The Weather Book (FitzRoy, 1862) where he recommended standard barome- ters, thermometers and hygrometers be set up in a network of stations to aid quantita- tive study of weather and climate, and to facilitate more accurate forecasting. More controversially, he also recommend- ed a cheap and apparently simple device known as a ‘weather glass’. Basically, this con- sisted of a solution of camphor and certain inorganic salts in aqueous alcohol, sealed in a glass tube. This tube might be mounted by itself or alongside a barometer (Figure 1).

Feathery, fern-like crystals were commonly present in the clear liquid in the tube, and it was suggested that their quantity and form could indicate the weather to be expected over the next few days. FitzRoy’s rather exten- sive claims have been reproduced by Sutton (1965) and are summarized here as Table 1. Advance warning of storms was particu- larly important for mariners, so the device was sometimes known as a ‘storm glass’. History FitzRoy does not claim to have invented the weather glass, and gives no details of its (Modern examples are sold by Barometer World Ltd.) The history of the chemical weather glass has recently been researched by Anita McConnell (2006). She confirms it was known in France in the 1780s, but the true originator remains obscure. The exact com- position of the content is also rather vague. The well-known instrument makers Negretti and Zambra apparently suggested camphor 2 parts, potassium nitrate 1 part, ammo- nium chloride 1 part; all dissolved in pure alcohol and then partly precipitated with distilled water.

That the appearance of the crystals in the weather glass changes from time to time appears to have been agreed long ago, but the cause of this variability was a source of conjecture. Table 1 certainly suggests that temperature is important, but additional fac- tors were suspected. The tubes were usually hermetically sealed so barometric pressure could not be a factor, and influences that might penetrate the glass were sought. FitzRoy himself proposed a varying elec- trostatic gradient, perhaps associated with wind from a certain direction, while magne- tism and intensity/duration of daylight have also been put forward. Extensive observations of a commercial weather glass were published by Tomlinson in 1863. He purchased it in Hatton Garden, so the exact composition of the fluid was unknown. Tomlinson observed the device over some years, and confirmed variations in the form, location and amount of crystal- lization. In particular, a crystalline deposit might sometimes be heaped-up on the side of the tube nearest a cold exterior window. He eventually concluded that heat alone was the principle at work, the tube acting as a rather inferior thermoscope of little predictive power.

I have endeavoured to find out more about the variable appearance of the weather glass by direct experiments with a solution of known composition. Many mixtures for the construction of chemical weather glasses have been publi- shed in various sources. (Tomlinson, 1863; Table 1 Fern-like crystals building up Cold and stormy Fern-like crystals disappearing Warmer Small star-like crystals descending Frost Complete mass of crystals Rain Liquid clear Fine and dry Figure 1. An ‘Admiral FitzRoy’ mercury barome- ter incorporating a weather glass. Retailed by Biddell of Belfast, ca. 1880.

(Image courtesy of Barometer World.) 072: The Fitzroy Grave - an Epilogue 072: The Fitzroy Grave - an Epilogue The Fitzroy Grave - an Epilogue Published 1981 Anyone familiar with the story of ‘FitzRoy of the Beagle’ and his association with Charles Darwin, who as a young man took passage in HMS Beagle on his appointment as official biologist on the historic voyages, will be gratified to know that a commemorative stone has recently been installed at the foot of the grave of Admiral FitzRoy in All Saints’ Churchyard, Upper Norwood. This stone replaces the original footstone placed there by former colleagues of Admiral FitzRoy, who served with him in 1865 in the newly-created Meteorological Office. It is a family grave and the headstone is still quite legible. In his latter years Admiral FitzRoy worked for the Board of Trade and was appointed Head of the Meteorological Office. He also devoted much work to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

The passage of time had caused the lettering on the old footstone to become almost indecipherable but the original wording read as follows:- ‘The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.’ (Ecclesiastes 1.6). A meteorological storm warning cone was also depicted on the stone. The new stone which has been erected by members of the present Meteorological Office, following a contact made by the FitzRoy family, is the work of the War Graves Commission and reads as follows:- ‘Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy First Head of the Meteorological Office 1854’ And the same verse from Ecclesiastes and a storm warning symbol in the form of a cone are inscribed on the stone. It has taken roughly ten years since information about the existence of the grave was conveyed to the present head of the FitzRoy family, the Duke of Grafton, who is also the Chairman of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

It was largely due to the TV documentary film ‘The Voyage of Charles Darwin’ that a further communication was sent expressing the hope that someone or some organisation would feel moved to stop the disintegration of this interesting memorial to a man who did so much in his lifetime to aid seamen and fishermen by his system of weather forecasting. A FitzRoy barometer can still be seen in certain coastal areas of Great Britain and the Isle of Man. The Church Authorities have maintained the grave over the years and repaired the railings surrounding it, repainting when necessary, but time has inevitably left its mark. Hilda Gilbert FitzRoy, Captain of the Beagle, Fierce Critic of Darwinism | The Institute for Creation Research FitzRoy, Captain of the Beagle, Fierce Critic of Darwinism by Andrew Sibley, M.S. Evidence for Creation Background Admiral Robert FitzRoy is better known as the Captain of HMS Beagle, the ship that carried Darwin on his famous voyage. FitzRoy was born into a notable royal family line and gained command of a ship at the young age of 23, mainly through his exceptional ability, and only partly from his lineage.

He could in fact trace his ancestors back through the Royal line of Charles II, and Barbara Villiers, the Duchess of Cleveland, and he was also a nephew of Lord Castlereagh. He was later nominated to fellowship of the Royal Society for his hydrographic and chronographic survey, and was also chosen as the first Chief Statist of the newly formed Meteorological Department of the Board of Trade in the UK (Now the UK Meteorological Office). Throughout his life he had a strong sense of Christian duty and desire to protect life, especially the lives of fellow sailors, and he was a pioneer in the development of a system of storm warnings around Britain following the Royal Charter naval disaster, and was the first to produce and issue regular weather forecasts. FitzRoy was born on July 5, 1805, at Ampton Hall, Suffolk, and trained at the Portsmouth based Royal Naval College, formerly the Royal Naval Academy founded in 1733.

He gained the distinction of being the first student to win the gold medal from this long established institution with a 100 percent pass rate, demonstrating the ability of an extraordinary scholar.1 Supporters of Darwin later tried to rubbish his reputation, but FitzRoy is now recognized as a man of exceptional scientific ability. In 1828 he took command of HMS Beagle, and three years later in 1831 he began his most famous second voyage. This was the journey that carried the naturalist Charles Darwin on expedition to South America and the Galapagos Islands. FitzRoy also became a more devout Christian and was later a major critic of the theory of evolution following the publication of Darwin's book The Origin of Species, in 1859. The voyage of the Beagle was commissioned and organized by Admiral Francis Beaufort and left Plymouth on December 27, 1831. However, the original plan of FitzRoy had been to arrange a trip at his own expense to carry three natives back to Tierra del Fuego.

Lavallee has previously shown in an Impact article how these three had been brought to England from the previous voyage, and FitzRoy's plan had been to educate them as Christians and send them back with two missionaries.2 The Navy took over the organization of the trip, and it was to last much longer than any had expected. Its main naval purpose was to survey the coast and waters of South America, so that accurate charts could be drawn of the southern passage, this for reasons of maritime safety. Beagle Voyage The young Darwin joined the Beagle as the ship's naturalist and companion of the Captain, following the recommendation of his former Professor, John Henslow. FitzRoy and Darwin remained friends for many years after. While FitzRoy was examining the coast on this long trip, Darwin was expected to survey the surrounding geology, flora, and fauna. Both FitzRoy and Darwin wrote up the exploration of the Beagle in a three-volume work, known as the Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle. FitzRoy wrote the first two volumes with Darwin the third (although the first volume mainly used edited material from Parker King and Pringle Stokes).

What unfolds from FitzRoy's account is that he seemed at first unsure of the truth of Genesis and was in fact responsible for giving Darwin a copy of Lyell's book Principles of Geology to read on the long voyage, a decision he later bitterly regretted. Despite his early years of doubt, FitzRoy later became a strong Christian and humanitarian. He commented, I suffered much anxiety in former years from a disposition to doubt, if not disbelieve, the inspired History written by Moses. I knew so little of that record, or of the intimate manner in which the Old Testament is connected with the New, that I fancied some events there related might be mythological or fabulous, while I sincerely believed the truth of others; a wavering between opinions, which could only be productive of an unsettled, and therefore unhappy, state of mind.3 Some have suggested that marriage to a devout wife changed FitzRoy's view from doubter to preacher, but from the Narrative it seems that the geological evidence observed first hand on the voyage was a major influence in changing his mind to accept the literal truth of Genesis.

In April and May, 1834, FitzRoy commanded a trip up the Rio Santa Cruz in whaleboats to survey the river course with Darwin a passenger. On his return to England, FitzRoy reported these findings to the Royal Geological Society and wrote up his survey in the Narrative showing him to be an able geologist. FitzRoy comments, Is it not remarkable that water-worn shingle stones, and diluvial accumulations, compose the greater portion of these plains? On how vast a scale, and of what duration must have been the action of those waters which smoothed the shingle stones now buried in the deserts of Patagonia.4 Though the bed of the river is there so much below the level of stratum of lava, it still bears the appearance of having worn away its channel by the continual action of running water. The surface of the lava may be considered as the natural level of the country, since, when upon it, a plain, which seems to the eye horizontal, extends in every direction.

How wonderful must that immense volcanic action have been which spread liquid lava over the surface of a vast tract of country.5 From these observations it appears that FitzRoy was beginning to see catastrophes at work in shaping the landform, both in terms of the action of water and volcanoes. But it seems that evidence of shells found in mountain rocks was foundational for FitzRoy in coming to accept the literal nature of the Genesis Flood. It appeared to me a convincing proof of the universality of the deluge. I am not ignorant that some have attributed this to other causes; but an unanswerable confutation of their subterfuge is this, that the various sorts of shells which compose these strata both in the plains and mountains, are the very same with those found in the bay and neighbouring places . . . these to me seem to preclude all manner of doubt that they were originally produced in that sea, from whence they were carried by waters, and deposited in the places where they are now found.6 After the voyage FitzRoy continued to visit Darwin at Down House in Kent regularly until the spring of 1857,7 but their friendship became severely strained following the publication of Darwin's book in November 1859.

FitzRoy became a major critic of his friend's work, and although he suffered from depression and a sharp temper he never bore grudges and showed compassion to those he disagreed with. In December 1859, FitzRoy began an exchange in The Times criticizing the dating of stone tools found near the river Somme, these dated to 14,000 years BP. This exchange was under a pseudonym Senex, from the Latin nemo senex metuit louem, meaning, "An old man should be fearful of God."8 1860 Oxford Debate In June of 1860, some six months after Darwin published his Origins book, a famous debate took place in Oxford, England, with notable speakers Bishop Samuel Wilberforce and Thomas Huxley. The Bishop, the son of the anti-slave campaigner William Wilberforce, was not a scientist, but instead was briefed by Richard Owen, founder of the Natural History Museum in London. This meeting was held by the British Association and was attended by a packed audience of some one thousand people.

Things turned sour, and followers of Darwin and Huxley later claimed victory, although the evidence does not really support this and exactly what happened and who won is still open to debate. Times were changing and Huxley's rudeness to a leading Bishop, with his fierce, rhetorical style won him popularity from the audience. FitzRoy also spoke at this emotionally charged meeting. At the end of the meeting FitzRoy is reported to have held a heavy Bible above his head like an Old Testament prophet and "implored the audience to believe God rather than man,"9 commenting that Darwin's work caused him "the acutest pain."10 The official report in The Athenaeum records FitzRoy as saying that ". . . [he] regretted the publication of Mr. Darwin's book and denied Professor Huxley's statement that it was a logical arrangement of facts."11 FitzRoy seems to have been shouted down for his comments, and Lady Brewster, overcome by the heated atmosphere and passion created, fainted and had to be carried out.12 FitzRoy's contribution to the debate seems to have been most memorable.

Julius Carus in a private letter to Darwin some six years later comments that, I shall never forget that meeting of the combined sections of the British Association when at Oxford in 1860, where Admiral FitzRoy expressed his sorrows for having given you the opportunities of collecting facts for such a shocking theory as yours.13 Sir David Brewster, a co-founder of the British Association was also a strong opponent of evolution and in private correspondence to FitzRoy, commented that, Darwin's book and the essays and reviews are most alarming proof of the infidelity and rashness of distinguished men.14 Some time later in another correspondence with Brewster, FitzRoy referred to Revelation 13 likening Darwin's theory of evolution to the "beast rising up out of the sea . . . opening his mouth in blasphemy against God."15 FitzRoy was an exceptional scholar and scientist, and a fierce and important critic of Darwin's theory of evolution, disputing the facts that Darwin presented. Supporters of Darwin later attacked FitzRoy's reputation because it was recognized that the Captain of the Beagle's comments could do enormous damage to the theory of evolution. Nevertheless, FitzRoy was a notable scientist and supporter of Flood geology and Special Creation.

Endnotes Gribbin, J. & M., FitzRoy, Review, Headline Book Publishing, p. 23, 2003. Comments by Professor Inman. Lavallee, L. "The Voyage of the Beagle -- In the Creator's Service," Impact 358 , ICR, April 2003. Gribbin, J. & M., ref. 1, p. 79. Ibid., p. 155. Ibid., p. 156. Ibid., p. 163. Barlow, D., "The Devil within: Evolution of a tragedy," Weather, Royal Met. Soc., vol. 52 (11), pp. 337-341, 1997. Gribbin, J. & M., ref. 1, p. 264. Reported in Cadbury, D., The Dinosaur Hunters, 4th Estate, Harper Collins, London, p. 310, 2000. Barlow, ref. 7.

Sourced from: Origins of Meteorology: An analytical catalogue of the correspondence and papers of the first Government Meteorological Office, under Rear Admiral Robert FitzRoy, 1854-1865, and Thomas Henry Babington 1865-1866, of the successor Meteorological Office from 1867, primarily during its first two years under the Scientific Committee appointed by the Royal Society, and of registers of Instruments issued by successive Meteorological Offices from 1854 to c. 1915. Held at the Public Records Office, Kew, England. The Athenaeum, 14th July. 1860. From --Accessed July 2005 -- Website of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Cadbury, D., ref. 9, p. 310. Letter from Julius Carus to Charles Darwin, 15th Nov. 1866, (From Gribbin, J. & M., ref. 1, p. 325.) Barlow, ref. 7, (Source as ref. 10). Barlow, ref. 7, (Source as ref. 10).

* Andrew Sibley is a Meteorologist working for the Met Office in the UK. He has a Masters of Science and is a Council member of the Creation Science Movement. MONUMENT TO VICE ADMIRAL ROBERT FITZROY IN ALL SAINTS' CHURCHYARD - 1252999| Historic England MONUMENT TO VICE ADMIRAL ROBERT FITZROY IN ALL SAINTS' CHURCHYARD List Entry Summary This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest. Name: MONUMENT TO VICE ADMIRAL ROBERT FITZROY IN ALL SAINTS' CHURCHYARD List entry Number: 1252999 MONUMENT TO VICE ADMIRAL ROBERT FITZROY IN ALL SAINTS' CHURCHYARD, BEULAH HILL The building may lie within the boundary of more than one authority. County: Greater London Authority National Park: Not applicable to this List entry. Grade: II Date of most recent amendment: Not applicable to this List entry.

Legacy System Information The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system. Legacy System: LBS UID: 436119 Asset Groupings This list entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information. List entry Description Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details. Reasons for Designation Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details. History Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details. Details The following building shall be added: TQ 36 NW BEULAH HILL 1005-/2/10005 Monument to Vice- Admiral Robert Fitzroy in All Saints' Churchyard II Railed monument with headstone and footstone c.1865 to Vice-Admiral Robert Fitzroy (1805-1865). This comprises a cast-iron railed enclosure with spear rails and dog rails on stone plinth. Headstone with curved top incorporates roundel with cross held by anchor.

Replaced footstone of 1985 commemorates the fact that Fitzroy was first head of the Meteorological Office in 1854. His wife Maria Isabella (d.1889) and daughter Laura Maria Elizabeth Fitzroy (d.1913) were also buried here. Vice-Admiral Fitzroy was captain of the 'Beagle' during Charles Darwin's first voyage (1831-36). He was responsible for many meteorological discoveries and was first head of the Meteorogical Office in 1854. He was Governor of New Zealand between 1843 and 1845. Listing NGR: TQ3312769764 Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details National Grid Reference: TQ 33127 69764 Map © Crown Copyright and database right 2016. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900. © British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2016. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.

Use of this data is subject to Terms and Conditions . The above map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. For a copy of the full scale map, please see the attached PDF - 1252999 .pdf The PDF will be generated from our live systems and may take a few minutes to download depending on how busy our servers are. We apologise for this delay. This copy shows the entry on 31-Dec-2016 at 03:07:23. End of official listing The Meteorological Observations in Coimbra and the Portuguese Participation in Weather Forecasting in Europe "The Portuguese Government signed a first contract to construct a submarine cable in 1870 (Tavares 2009, p. 82) but, due to a breach of contract and political instability, the work was suspended for the next two decades. Weather forecasting was still a controversial issue in the scientific community, as may be confirmed by all the criticism directed at Robert FitzRoy in the 1860s, when he was a pioneer in this activity, and also Le Verrier (Burton 1986, Davies 1984).

11 A Portuguese proverb says that 'if you want to lie, start predicting the weather'. " [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: In the early nineteenth century, regular meteorological observations started at the Faculty of Natural Philosophy of the University of Coimbra (FPUC). From 1854 to 1856 these observations were published in O Instituto, a journal of an academic society of the same name, founded in Coimbra in 1852. This new area of science aroused great interest, offering itself as unexplored territory waiting for scientific investigation. In reaction to the pioneering work at the Polytechnic School of Lisbon of Guilherme Pegado, who founded the first meteorological observatory in Portugal in 1854, the FPUC established a Meteorological and Magnetic Observatory in Coimbra. The main actor was, from 1863, the physicist Jacinto António de Sousa. In the twentieth century, the increasing need for weather forecasting, especially at sea, led to the creation of the Meteorological Services of the Navy in which Carvalho Brandão played a pivotal role. It was the beginning of an international cooperation that brought Jacob Bjerknes to Portugal.

He addressed a conference at Coimbra recommending the creation of a meteorological station in the Azores, to relay observational data from vessels travelling in the Atlantic. The Portuguese meteorological services were scattered in various institutions until 1946, when the National Meteorological Services (NMS) were created. Based on articles published in O Instituto and on the activities of the academy with the same name, we provide an overview of the evolution of meteorology in Portugal until the establishment of the NMS, with particular emphasis on the work of the Meteorological and Magnetic Observatory at the University of Coimbra. Full-text · Article · Dec 2011 The Finley Affair: A Signal Event in the History of Forecast Verification "nitiated in the United States and in several countries in western Europe during the period 1850–1870, in conjunction with the creation of regional and national weather services (Hughes 1994; Whitnah 1961). Perhaps not surprisingly, questions— and, in some cases, controversies—soon arose about the quality of the forecasts produced by these services.

Burton (1986), for example, contains a rather detailed discussion of various issues related to the accuracy of storm warnings produced in the early 1860s by the United Kingdom's Meteorological Department under the direction of Admiral Fitzroy. Nevertheless, the practice of forecast verification—and, in particular, concepts and methods underlying this" [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: In 1884 a paper by J. P. Finley appeared in the American Meteorological Journal describing the results of an experimental tornado forecasting program in the central and eastern United States. Finley's paper reported "percentages of verifications" exceeding 95%, where this index of performance was defined as the percentage of correct tornado/no-tornado forecasts. Within six months, three papers had appeared that identified deficiencies in Finley's method of verification and/or proposed alternative measures of forecasting performance in the context of this 2 × 2 verification problem.

During the period from 1885 to 1893, several other authors in the United States and Europe, in most cases stimulated either by Finley's paper or by the three early responses, made noteworthy contributions to methods-oriented and practices-oriented discussions of issues related to forecast verification in general and verification of tornado forecasts in particular. The burst of verification-related activities during the period 1884-1893 is referred to here as the "Finley affair." It marked the beginning of substantive conceptual and methodological developments and discussions in the important subdiscipline of forecast verification. This paper describes the events that constitute the Finley affair in some detail and attempts to place this affair in proper historical context from the perspective of the mid-1990s. Whatever their individual strengths and weaknesses, the measures introduced during the period from 1884 to 1893 have withstood important tests of time - for example, these measures have been rediscovered on one or more occasions and they are still widely used today (generally under names assigned since 1900).

Moreover, many of the issues vis-à-vis forecast verification that were first raised during the Finley affair remain issues of considerable importance more than 100 years later. Article · Mar 1996

Question: The Meteorological Office was founded in 1854, which Vice-Admiral was its first head?
Answer: (Robert) Fitzroy